Side-by-Side Comparison
Wi-Fi
Legacy Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g) vs. Wi-Fi 7
Comparing 2 standards across 14 specifications. 14 key differences identified.
Comparing:
Legacy Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g)
Wi-Fi 7
Legacy IEEE 802.11 standards (802.11b, 802.11a, and 802.11g) established commercial consumer wireless networking between 1999 and 2003, transitioning from 11 Mbps DSSS/CCK in the 2.4 GHz band to 54 Mbps OFDM modulation across both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.
Wi-Fi 7 (IEEE 802.11be, Extremely High Throughput) was approved by IEEE-SA in 2024, operating across 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands. It features 320 MHz channel bandwidth, 4096-QAM modulation, 8x8 MU-MIMO (an early draft's 16 spatial streams was dropped before finalization), and Multi-Link Operation (MLO), achieving theoretical speeds up to about 23 Gbps in a single band.
Specification Comparison Table
14 Parameters| Parameter / Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Frequency Bands
|
2.4 GHz (802.11b/g), 5 GHz (802.11a) | 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz (Tri-Band) |
|
Max Channel Width
|
20 MHz | 320 MHz |
|
Spatial Streams (MIMO)
|
1 (SISO only) | 8x8 |
|
Standards Included
|
802.11b (1999), 802.11a (1999), 802.11g (2003) | — |
|
Max Data Rate (802.11b)
|
11 Mbps | — |
|
Max Data Rate (802.11a/g)
|
54 Mbps | — |
|
Modulation Schemes
|
DSSS / CCK (802.11b), OFDM (802.11a/g) | — |
|
IEEE Standard
|
— | IEEE 802.11be (Extremely High Throughput) |
|
Wi-Fi Generation
|
— | Wi-Fi 7 |
|
Ratification Year
|
— | 2024 |
|
Max Theoretical PHY Rate
|
— | 23.06 Gbps |
|
Typical Client PHY Rate (2x2)
|
— | 5.76 Gbps |
|
Modulation Standard
|
— | 4096-QAM (4K-QAM) |
|
Key Capabilities
|
— | Multi-Link Operation (MLO), Multi-RU Preamble Puncturing |